Muslim Rage?

In my Twitter feed tonight, first I saw #Newsweek and #MuslimRage trending.

Then I saw the cover.

Really? REALLY? Have we not learned anything from the past week? When I saw the photo, I was physically startled. And that aggressive headline and unnerving picture is going to be stacked in the racks where people are waiting in line to buy their groceries, or to pick up some medicine at a local pharmacy. I can’t imagine it will incite any sort of substantive conversation on roots of the protests, or why it may not be just the video that people are angry about. It’s not difficult to envision the reaction that magazine cover will prompt.

Muslim Rage. The two words together remind me of those posters in New York City, or announcements over the loudspeaker: “If you see something, say something.” They’re meant to frighten. So is this cover.

Something like this is just irresponsible. I’m embarrassed to show the 15-year old whom I spoke with earlier today about the “Innocence of Muslims” video. She told me that she told the people at her school who blamed the video on Americans that they were wrong for thinking that it was America’s fault. I think about another conversation I had today with a Jordanian man who lives in San Francisco. He recounted some of the differing views of the other men at the wedding celebration he was at, some of whom said that this is a start of a war between Christians and Muslims. He said to them, “That’s too much. That’s wrong.”

Like this:

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Thank you for this post. I absolutely HATE the violent, uncalled for reaction this film has provoked – but REALLY, Newsweek? This is just fuelling the fire!
I’ve often felt uncomfortable traveling in the US because of the broadcasts in the airport (I wrote about it once: http://fscribbles.com/2011/09/13/because-we-appear-suspicious/)! I mean what if someone feels like they should report me because my hair is covered? How do I tell them I’m different? The media paints us all with the same brush and it’s just not fair.